>> AT THE SAME TIME, MILWAUKEE
IS WORKING ON IMPLEMENTING ITS
OWN FACE MASK REQUIREMENT.
HEALTH SECRETARY-DESIGNEE ANDREA
PALM IS HELPING MANAGE THE
CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE IN
WISCONSIN, AS WE EXPERIENCE THE
BIGGEST SURGE TO DATE.
AND ANDREA PALM JOINS US THIS
WEEK.
THANKS VERY MUCH FOR DOING SO.
>> THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
>> SO REPORTING THIS WEEK SHOWED
THAT WISCONSIN'S COVID-19
REPRODUCTION RATE IS THE WORST
IN THE NATION.
WHAT SHOULD WE MAKE OF THAT?
>> SO I THINK WE -- WE HAVE HAD
THE GOOD FORTUNE HERE IN
WISCONSIN OF WATCHING, BOTH NOW
AND WHEN IT FIRST ARRIVED HERE
IN THE STATES, OTHER STATES WHO
HAVE BEEN SORT OF ON THE LEADING
EDGE OF THIS, AND SO I THINK AS
WE SEE OUR REPRODUCTION NUMBER
AND OUR SURGE HAPPENING HERE IN
WISCONSIN, WE NEED TO TAKE NOTE
OF WHAT WE'RE SEEING AROUND THE
COUNTRY AND DO WHAT WE NEED TO
DO AS A STATE TO PULL BACK
TOGETHER TO STOP THE SPREAD, TO
REDUCE OUR SURGE FROM BECOMING
WORSE SO THAT WE DON'T GET
OURSELVES IN A PLACE WHERE WE
LOOK LIKE SOME OF OUR
NEIGHBORING AND OTHER STATES
AROUND THE COUNTRY.
>> SO OUR NUMBERS HAVE DOUBLED
IN THE PAST SIX WEEKS.
WHAT HAVE CONTACT TRACERS BEEN
ABLE TO SHOW YOU AND OTHER
PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS ABOUT
WHERE THOSE CASES ARE COMING
FROM?
>> SO I THINK THERE'S A COUPLE
OF THINGS WORTH NOTING IN THE
DATA WE'RE SEEING FROM OUR
CONTACT TRACERS.
ONE IS WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE
AND AROUND THE COUNTRY IS THAT
THERE IS A LARGE UPTICK IN OUR
20 SOMETHINGS WHO ARE BECOMING
INFECTED WITH COVID-19.
AND THEN, SECONDLY, OUR SURGE IS
ALSO BEING DRIVEN BY MASS
GATHERINGS, BY, YOU KNOW,
EVERYTHING FROM BBQS AND BARS
AND RESTAURANTS AND OTHER TYPES
OF EVENTS WHERE PEOPLE ARE NOT
SOCIAL DISTANCING, NOT WEARING
MASKS AND ARE IN LARGE GROUPS
THAT HELP REDUCE OUR ABILITY TO
REALLY DO GOOD CONTACT TRACING,
GET TO THE ROOT OF IT AND STOP
THE SPREAD.
>> SO MASS GATHERINGS LIKE OVER
THE 4TH OF JULY, FOR EXAMPLE,
WHERE WE SAW LARGE CROWDS IN THE
WISCONSIN DELLS AT THE
WATERPARKS, WHEN WILL ANY
POSITIVE CASES FROM LAST
WEEKEND'S KIND OF MASS
GATHERINGS SHOW UP?
>> YOU KNOW, SO AS WE'VE LEARNED
MANY THINGS THROUGHOUT THIS
PANDEMIC, ONE OF THE THINGS WE
KNOW ABOUT THIS VIRUS IS SYMPTOM
ONSET IS ANYWHERE FROM A FEW
DAYS TO 14 DAYS, AND SO WE
CERTAINLY COULD START TO SEE
CASES FROM MASS GATHERINGS THAT
HAPPENED OVER THE WEEKEND, YOU
KNOW, LATE THIS WEEK, BUT WHAT I
THINK IS MOST IMPORTANT IS THAT
FOLKS WHO WERE AT MASS
GATHERINGS SHOULD TAKE THE STEPS
TO PROTECT THEMSELVES, TO
PROTECT OTHERS, SELF-ISOLATE,
MONITOR FOR SYMPTOMS, GET A
TEST, TALK TO YOUR HEALTH CARE
PROVIDER IF YOU HAVE EVEN THE
MILDEST SYMPTOMS.
BUT MAKE SURE IF YOU WERE AT A
GATHERING THAT YOU TAKE THE
NECESSARY STEPS TO PROTECT
YOURSELF AND THOSE IN YOUR
COMMUNITY FROM THE SPREAD OF
COVID-19.
>> HAVE WE SEEN EVIDENCE THAT
ANY OF THE MASS GATHERINGS BY
WAY OF RACIAL JUSTICE PROTESTS
CAUSED AN INCREASE IN CASES?
>> SO, AS YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE
THINGS YOU GET IN A CONTACT
TRACING INTERVIEW IS INFORMATION
ABOUT WHERE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN.
AND SO MASS GATHERINGS, AS I
MENTIONED, IS A DRIVER IN OUR
SURGE RIGHT NOW.
BUT THE BULK OF WHAT WE'RE
SEEING IN OUR DATA IS NOT FROM
THOSE WHO PARTICIPATED IN
PROTESTS, BUT IN OTHER TYPES OF
MASS GATHERINGS, HOUSE, PARTIES,
BARS, RESTAURANTS, PLACES WHERE
THERE WASN'T GOOD SOCIAL
DISTANCING AND MASK-WEARING.
BUT THE PROTESTS PARTICULARLY
ARE NOT COMING UP IN GREAT
NUMBERS IN THE DATA WE'RE
GETTING FROM CONTACT TRACERS.
>> AS YOU WELL KNOW, GOVERNOR
EVERS JUST IMPOSED A MASK
MANDATE FOR STATE EMPLOYEES
INSIDE STATE BUILDINGS, AND HE
WILL NOT REOPEN STATE BUILDINGS
AS PLANNED.
WOULD YOU, IF YOU COULD, IMPOSE
A MASK MANDATE STATEWIDE?
>> SO I THINK THE THING ABOUT
MASKS, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE A
COUPLE OF THINGS I WOULD SAY.
ONE, THE EVIDENCE AROUND THE USE
THE MASKS AND THEIR
EFFECTIVENESS AS A TOOL TO STOP
THE SPREAD HAS REALLY DEVELOPED
OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS.
AND SO WE ABSOLUTELY ARE
STRONGLY ENCOURAGING FOLKS
AROUND WISCONSIN TO PITCH IN AND
WEAR A MASK AND HELP STOP THE
SPREAD.
I THINK AS IT RELATES TO STATE
EMPLOYEES, AGAIN, WE ARE TRYING
TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE, TO WALK THE
WALK AND TO BE PART OF A
SOLUTION STATEWIDE AS WE WORK
WITH LOCAL PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE
TOOLS THAT THEY HAVE TO HELP
REDUCE THE SPREAD THROUGH ORDERS
AND ORDINANCES, ET CETERA, THAT
THEY ARE ALL WORKING TO DO
AROUND THE STATE.
AND WE ARE TRYING TO BE PARTNERS
WITH THEM IN THAT EFFORT.
>> MEANWHILE, AS YOU ALSO WELL
KNOW, TWO-THIRDS OF WISCONSIN
COUNTIES ARE IN THE HIGH
TRANSMISSION CATEGORY RIGHT NOW.
WHAT IN YOUR EXPERT OPINION
WOULD BE THE THRESHOLD FOR A
DECLARATION OF A NEW STATEWIDE
EMERGENCY?
>> SO THIS DASHBOARD WAS
INTENDED REALLY TO HELP PROVIDE
SOME OF THAT KIND OF INFORMATION
TO LOCALS AS THEY TRY TO
UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING ON
THE GROUND IN THEIR COMMUNITIES,
RIGHT?
IT'S ABOUT DISEASE ACTIVITY, THE
TRAJECTORY THAT THAT DISEASE IS
GOING, IS IT GETTING BETTER,
HAVE WE NOT SEEN A SIGNIFICANT
CHANGE, IS IT GETTING WORSE.
IT REALLY HELPS YOU UNDERSTAND
DIRECTIONALLY WHETHER THE THINGS
WE ARE DOING ON THE GROUND THAT
LOCAL PUBLIC HEALTH AND THEIR
LOCAL ELECTED, WHETHER IT'S
HELPING US MOVE IN THE RIGHT
DIRECTION.
AND SO WE WOULD WANT TO LOOK AT
ALL THAT KIND OF INFORMATION,
HOSPITAL CAPACITY, HOW ARE THEY
DOING, WHAT'S THEIR ICU, HOW ARE
THEY LOOKING, TO MAKE DECISIONS
LIKE THAT MOVING FORWARD.
BUT, RIGHT, THIS IS THE
DAY-TO-DAY KIND OF THING IN
REALTIME THAT WE NEED TO BE
WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH LOCAL
PUBLIC HEALTH TO DO.
>> ALL RIGHT.
WE NEED TO LEAVE IT THERE.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US AND
THANK FOR YOUR WORK,
SECRETARY-DESIGNEE ANDREA PALM.
>> THANK YOU SO MUCH.